Local distillery releases first spirit

After more than a year of experimenting with liquor recipes and clearing the necessary government hurdles, S and G Artisan Distillery opens for business at its MillWorks production and retail space on Thursday.

The first product in S & G’s “The Spirits of Yellow Springs” line is an apple pie moonshine, made with rum aged on-site and a proprietary fruit blend. At only 22 percent alcohol, the moonshine is sweet and smooth and not overpowering, according to owner Meg Gujer.

While onsite customers can sample up to four 1/4 oz. tastings and purchase two bottles per day. The moonshine is only available locally.

Groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds from operations at the former Vernay Laboratories production facilities on Dayton Street has spread eastward across Wright Street and Suncrest Drive. Soil contamination at the site is concentrated in an area near the two former plants, where chlorinated solvents used to degrease metal parts were disposed, and at the front of a property, where a common pesticide was used. SG-15D is the soil gas well whose fall 2016 high test results were alarming to the oversight firm EHS. (Map generated using data and maps from Vernay and EHS Technology Group)